Chase Watson

10/28/15
ENGL 101
What is equality? The definition of equality is the state of being equivalent in status,
rights, and opportunities. In America; male or female, black or white, everyone is assured
equality. Every American citizen has the same rights, opportunities, and along with being equal
in social status, or do they Sheryl Sandberg, the author of What Would You Do If You
Werent Afraid, has her own outlook on equality in todays American society between men in
addition to women. Sheryl Sandberg disputes the inequality between men and women in the
workforce and encourages women to be more assertive. By doing this, Sandberg believes that
women could attain more leadership roles. In addition to this Sandberg believes that gender
stereotypes are an immense problem in todays society. I disagree with Sandberg. I believe that
men are not currently running the world today and I also disagree that gender stereotypes are a
big problem today. I use Bell Hooks Dig Deep: Beyond Lean In as support to my argument.
Sandberg uses an old or past stereotype, instead of current day ones, therefore making her essay
more biased toward women.
Sheryl Sandberg does not believe that we have complete equality today. She believes that
men are currently running the world in todays society. Therefore, she believes that women need
to step it up and take a superior role in leadership. Although, I beg to differ. I do not think that
either men or women are running the world. Instead, it is a combination of both working
together. I think that instead of one gender running the world, its the best person for the job.
Hooks backs this up by saying, Sandberg does not include any clear statements of which group
of women she is referring to (Pg. 633). Then, Hooks goes on by calling this sexist thinking on

Sandbergs part (663). Male or female, most do not care; instead, they pick the right person for
the job. Sandberg argues about stereotypes many times throughout her essay.
Sandberg ponders that women need to take a larger leadership role. She clarifies that in
order to do this; women are going to need to start becoming more ambitious than they currently
are. Sandberg goes on by saying, When jobs are described as powerful, challenging, and
involving high levels of responsibility, they appeal to more men than women (647). I disagree
with this statement. In some cases it might be true but not all of the time, therefore this is a very
unfair claim. For example, the very well-known, presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. This is
an instance of how Sandberg portrays men as being more ambitious than women are. Hooks
backs this up by saying that Sandbergs critiques are based on rage from the male-dominated
mass media (665). Sandberg goes on by saying that more men target leadership roles due to their
ambition, therefore they obtain them. She responds to this statement by saying that women have
to go through hindrances to acquire a role in leadership.
Next, Sandberg gives an illustration of how elementary school children, both boys and
girls respond to a certain question. The question was, What do you want to be when you grow
up? (648). Several of the boys responded by stating that they wanted to be the president. As for
the girls, not one desired this role. Sandberg adds that, data suggests that when these girls
become women, they will continue to feel the same way (648). In my opinion, this is just
ridiculous. These are elementary school children that we are talking about. The children are
normally going to follow what their peers do. Boys support one another and on the other side
girls support each other. You might be able to walk into the next classroom, ask the class the
same thing and the girls might want to be president, with the boys thinking otherwise. This is an
example of Hooks saying Sandberg takes part in a feminist movement (670). This claim made by

Sandberg is very unfair and biased. She then clarified that professional ambition, is anticipated of
men, but is optional or deleterious for women. Sandberg believes that with more ambition,
women could be more authoritative in todays society. In my opinion, women are much more
ambitious than they use to be. This is an example of where Sandberg uses an inaccurate past
stereotype.
Now, instead of focusing on the subject of ambition, Sandberg gives her views on
equality and stereotypes. Sandberg states that, From a very early age, boys are encouraged to
take charge and offer their opinions (652). She elucidates that teachers cooperate more with
boys therefore, boys are more likely to call out answers. She then says that when they do,
teachers frequently listen to them. Then she goes on by saying that, when girls call out answers,
teachers often scold them for breaking the guidelines and remind them to raise their hands if they
want to speak. Here, Sandberg gives an example of her many stereotypes that she uses
throughout her essay. This accusation does not seem very reliable to myself, considering it is
another personal anecdote. In my opinion, this statement sounds like a very sexist thing to say. I
believe that boys and girls, especially from a young age, are given the same opportunities and
taught to respect one another. Sandberg must get this idea from very few certain instances. Hooks
mentions that patriarchy is not talked about at all in Sandbergs essay and she finds that very
ironic considering gender equality is one of Sandbergs main concerns (671).
In accumulation to boys given more opportunities than girls are, Sandberg also believes
that men receive more opportunities than women do. Sandberg delineates these as gender
stereotypes. Later, Sandberg goes on by saying, The gender stereotypes introduced in
childhood are reinforced throughout our lives and become self-fulfilling prophesies. Most
leadership positions are held by men, so women do not expect to achieve them that becomes one

of the reasons they dont (653). Sandberg very visibly states that she believes that men, given
more opportunities for leadership positions, are something that needs to change. Currently, men
and women are given the same opportunities; it is just a matter of whom make the most of those
opportunities. Once again, this is another example of an old stereotype.
Sandberg later states another stereotype. She says that the stereotype threatens and
discourages girls from entering the technical field because; often women have been the minority
when it comes to studies in computer science. Sandberg says that 41 percent of mothers are
breadwinners and earn the majority of her familys earnings. Then she goes on about how men,
normally considered the head of the family, because they are supposed to be the breadwinner.
Sandberg states that this thought needs to change because it is not reality. Instead, she thinks that
men need to support their wives more on their pursuit for a larger role. Sandberg believes that
with this support from men, women would believe in themselves, therefore giving them more
confidence to achieve leadership roles. I think that men currently do very strongly support their
wives. Women never really use to be breadwinners but now they do have the opportunity to be
the breadwinners. Sandbergs information that she uses is not very up to date and Hooks states
that she uses old or past stereotypes (672). These old stereotypes make Sandburgs essay look
more biased toward women.
Sandberg has some inaccurate philosophies, as I pointed out with the support of Hooks.
Overall, I believe that Sandbergs essay would be a lot stronger than it really is if she would not
have used quite so many personal anecdotes. I also believe that it would be a lot stronger if she
would have used current day stereotypes rather than old ones, which are quite inaccurate to
todays stereotypes. The inequality between men and women that Sandberg states is
contradicting to todays society. Gender stereotypes are no longer a big problem, men and

women are now given the same opportunities, and the man or the woman of the family can now
be the breadwinner. In todays society, neither men nor women run the world. This is because
men and women run the world together to make it a better place.

Work Cited:
-

Bell Hooks. "Dig Deep: Beyond Lean In." They Say, I Say: With Readings. Ed. Gerald
Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. Pgs. 659-675.
Print.

Sheryl Sandberg. What Would You Do If You Werent Afraid. They Say, I Say: With
Readings. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W.W.
Norton, 2013. Pgs. 659-675. Print.